{"id":10332,"date":"2022-08-30T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-30T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalfoodresearchprogram.org\/?p=10332"},"modified":"2025-05-18T20:12:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T00:12:04","slug":"healthy-helping-program-made-fruits-and-vegetables-affordable-for-low-income-north-carolinians-during-the-covid-19-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalfoodresearchprogram.org\/healthy-helping-program-made-fruits-and-vegetables-affordable-for-low-income-north-carolinians-during-the-covid-19-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Helping program made fruits and vegetables affordable for North Carolinians during the COVID-19 pandemic\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Healthy<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Low-income North Carolinians who received a monthly fruit and vegetable benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic enjoyed the flexibility to choose more and a greater variety of nutritious foods during a time of profound food insecurity, according to a new study<\/a> in the Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill interviewed participants in the Healthy Helping Fruit and Vegetable Program<\/a>, which provided beneficiaries $40 per month to purchase fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables at a chain supermarket retailer. Funded by state allocations from the federal CARES Act and operated by Durham-based nonprofit Reinvestment Partners, the Healthy Helping program ran from June\u2013December 2020 and was offered to adults enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) who were experiencing additional food insecurity during COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Molly De Marco, PhD<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that targeted fruit and vegetable benefit programs work to increase access and improve dietary quality, but we wanted to learn more about the program experience from participants\u2019 points of view,\u201d said Molly De Marco, leader of the Food, Fitness + Opportunity Research Collaborative<\/a> at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and the study\u2019s lead author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Marco and colleagues conducted phone interviews with 10 participants from rural and urban locations and ranging in age from 34 to 72 years. Key themes that emerged included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n